Letting Go
by luvsanime02
Summary: After a tragic accident, Duo's whole life centers around his son, Leon. Until one unusual day at the local pool, where he meets the volunteer lifeguard. Can Duo let go of his fear of the past repeating itself in order to pursue a future with Heero?
1. Staying Hydrated

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. That honor belongs to someone else. I'm making no profit off of this fic.

 **AN:** Rated K+ for language. This story is based completely off of the amazing artwork and headcanon below that of hasuyawwn, found here: hasuyawwn . tumblr .com (slash) post (slash) 88453511043. Everyone should go check out hasu's art!

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 **Letting Go** by luvsanime02

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 **Part I - Staying Hydrated**

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There he went again, walking past Duo.

He'd never seen a lifeguard constantly patrol the swimming pool with the same unwavering attention that this man did. Duo admired that focus, even as he wondered how the heck the man wasn't exhausted from walking constantly around the pool's edge. In fact, Duo had never seen him actually use the lifeguard's chair. Instead, he kept moving, watching the kids and making sure no one was in any danger.

His feet were always bare too, even though the surface he was walking on was boiling hot. Duo would know. He was sitting near the edge of the pool himself, watching Leon swim with some of the other kids. Duo made sure he was positioned back far enough that the lifeguard could walk in front of him around the edge of the pool, but otherwise, he was as close as possible to the water.

Unfortunately, where Duo was sitting, there were no stray splashes of water. Just hot, dry concrete, and it burned him even through his shorts and the towel he was sitting on. He could easily sit in one of the lounge chairs further back instead, but he felt better staying closer to the water's edge, just in case Leon needed help.

Clearly, Duo had no room to talk about the lifeguard concentrating too much on the kids' safety.

Duo couldn't help it, though. He didn't know if he'd ever get over his bone-deep relief at seeing Leon safe and happy. Didn't know if he'd ever stop feeling that gut-wrenching twist at the empty spot next to him, where Hilde should have been.

He'd lost her, and he'd almost lost Leon at the same time, and no, Duo really couldn't blame the lifeguard for being so intently focused on doing his job. Duo was always watching the whole pool too, even if his eyes mostly followed his own son.

At least Duo didn't actually spend all of his time walking. He didn't know how the lifeguard's feet weren't cracked and red and blistered from the heat, but a glance down showed that they were perfectly healthy. Nice, even.

Okay, so the guy was actually really damn attractive. He had this short, messy dark brown hair that fell forward into his blue, blue eyes, and he obviously kept in shape for his job, which Duo could see very well, since the lifeguard was only wearing swim trunks. His skin was a golden tan that looked natural, not spray-on.

Duo realized that he was staring again, and forced his eyes back onto his son, both embarrassed and ashamed at letting his attention wander. Not that the lifeguard had noticed. Actually, he didn't seem to be aware of any of the appreciative looks sent his way. Duo wasn't the only one whose eyes wandered whenever this particular guy was patrolling the pool. In fact, he was pretty sure those blue eyes and impressive build were why the majority of the women in their young-to-mid twenties ventured out and braved the heat. They sure never swam in the pool with the kids, preferring to spread out on lounge chairs dressed in very minimal clothing, even for a pool.

Leon waved at Duo suddenly, even though the boy's attention had been somewhere else a second before. Duo waved back enthusiastically. He didn't much like the local pool, but suffered it for Leon's sake, and tried not to think about how many germs were coating them both by the time they got back home. He always made Leon take a bath right afterwards. Duo did a quick rinse too, in the shower, since it wasn't like he was ever actually in the pool himself. No, considering the long braid down his back, Duo didn't think soaking in chlorine would do him any favors.

The lifeguard's whistle emitted a short, sharp noise, and even though Duo was looking right at Leon and could see that he was perfectly fine, his heart started beating out a fast, panicked tempo. What if something had happened to him that Duo hadn't seen? What if-

What if the lifeguard was just telling two girls who were older than most of the others and should know better not to run along the edge of the pool. Duo took a deep breath, and then another, forcing himself to relax a little. He made himself watch Leon having fun, and told himself that everything was fine, that he didn't need to march over there and demand Leon get out so that they could go home right that second, so that Duo could lock their front door and wrap his son up in a big blanket and keep him safe forever _._

He didn't. No matter how much he wanted to, Duo didn't move. He sat there, and focused on his breathing, inhaling the overwhelming scent of chlorine. It was almost enough to block out the scent memory of wet rust.

A shadow suddenly fell over him, and Duo looked up, startled. He was even more surprised when he saw that it was the lifeguard standing over him. Duo craned his neck up to try and see the man's features clearly, even though the sun was behind him, but just then he squatted down in front of Duo so that he could finally view those blue eyes in detail. They were even more amazing than he'd thought, ringed by a blue so dark that it looked almost black, with every other color of deep blue expanding inward. They were damn gorgeous, and way too close.

"Are you okay?" the man asked. His voice was quiet, but firm, and sounded concerned.

Abruptly, Duo felt himself flushing, and cursed his lighter complexion for making it so obvious. The lifeguard must have seen Duo freaking out and came over to make sure that he was all right. Geez. "I'm fine," he said, reassuring the man.

In response, he leaned forward and gently laid his palm against Duo's forehead. Duo was caught off-guard by the gesture; part of him wanted to point out that he wasn't a kid and could take care of himself, but the rest of him was too shocked to move. The touch was casual, nothing intimate implied, practical, but it still managed to send a slight shiver down Duo's back, despite the heat.

"Your face is flushed and your skin feels warm, and just now you were also breathing very heavily," the lifeguard said, abruptly. Duo blinked. "Wait here."

Well, Duo hadn't been planning on moving anyway. Not until Leon was done playing, which should actually be soon. So he watched the lifeguard walk around the pool's edge, still keeping an eye on the kids, and then over to what was obviously an employee building. He came back out a few moments later with a small towel and a bottle of water.

By the time he came back over, Duo was feeling a little less like an idiot and more mildly amused than anything. "I'm really okay," he said, but let the man wet the towel and press it against the back of Duo's neck, and then hand him the water bottle to drink from.

"Drink that," was all he said in response. It should have sounded like an order, but it didn't, somehow. Duo, not seeing what harm it could do and honestly being thirsty, started drinking. The water was ice cold, and the towel on his neck was cool. They felt fantastic. Even though Duo was sure he hadn't been suffering from heatstroke, even a mild case, he felt better afterwards.

"Thanks," he said, after he'd finished. The lifeguard was crouched down beside him, eyes scanning the kids in the water but still glancing back at him occasionally.

"Sure," he said, nodding at Duo. To his surprise, the man then proceeded to sit down cross-legged next to him instead of continuing his patrol. "You're here often on the weekends."

Duo shrugged lightly. "My son, Leon," he said, a simple explanation, pointing him out just as a young girl snuck up behind him and launched onto his back. Duo snorted lightly. She was so tiny that she couldn't even dunk Leon, just clung to his back like a monkey.

Looking over, he saw the other man smiling at the scene, just slightly. It was a beautiful smile, Duo admitted to himself.

"My niece, Millie, comes here a lot too," he told Duo, and pointed out a pretty girl a few years older than Leon chasing some other kids and splashing around wildly. "She's why I started lifeguarding here, actually."

"Oh?" Duo asked, interested. He'd wondered, since the other man was older than the typical lifeguards found at the public pool.

The other man nodded. "She insists on coming here too often for her parents to bring her. I keep telling her all of that chlorine is going to bleach her hair."

Duo laughed. "You're definitely right about that," he agreed, knowing from experience. He stuck out his hand. "Duo Maxwell."

There was that little smile again. "Heero Yuy."

Another lifeguard was blowing a whistle, and Duo looked at his phone quick to see that it was indeed closing time for the pool. Heero stood up, and Duo handed him back the towel. He'd throw the empty water bottle into the recycle bin when he got home.

"Nice meeting you," Duo said, even though he felt slightly awkward saying that to someone he'd technically been seeing a couple times a week since late June.

Heero nodded. "Yes," he replied, and then walked off to help corral the kids out of the pool, and the adults from the lounge seats around the enclosure.

Duo shook his head. Heero seemed slightly awkward, he thought, like the man wasn't used to frequent social interactions with other adults, but he seemed nice.

And okay, he looked very good walking away in those swim trunks too, Duo considered fairly, though his attention was quickly diverted by a wet and gleeful Leon racing towards him, ready for Duo to take him home.


	2. Lost and Found

**Part II - Lost and Found**

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 **AN:** Just a warning that this chapter briefly depicts someone having a panic attack, so read at your own risk.

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Duo had let Leon out of his sight for less than a minute, and now he was trying to hold himself together instead of flying apart into a million scattered pieces.

He had sent his son to the pool while he lowered himself down onto a beach towel that he'd laid out. Duo's eyes had been on the ground for literally less than a minute, less than half of one! But when he'd looked up, Leon was nowhere to be seen. A feeling of sheer terror swept over him then.

People were touching him, Duo realized dimly. He couldn't breathe. His vision was narrowed down to a couple of white spots before his eyes, and his chest hurt, and he couldn't breathe because his son was _gone,_ and who the hell were all of these people touching him?

Duo wanted to tell them to back off. He needed space. He needed _air_ , but he couldn't make himself speak. Everything hurt, and he couldn't make sense of it all, and he was going to pass out any second now.

Then there was suddenly a paper bag being forced over his mouth and nose, and Duo was clutching at it desperately, noisily sucking air in and out. After a few minutes, when the darkness had receded, Duo saw that Heero was standing in front of him, about a foot away, giving him space. Duo would thank him if he could stop himself from shaking so hard his teeth were chattering.

Heero's eyes locked onto his. "Do you need me to call an ambulance?" Heero asked, now that he knew he had Duo's attention, voice calm but eyes worried as hell.

Duo shook his head, and finally managed to suck in a deep enough breath. "He's gone," he croaked out, his throat scraped raw. "Leon."

Heero's head jerked around fast, and Duo could see him start to scan the kids in the pool, but it was no use, he knew. Duo had known the second he'd looked back up that Leon was no longer anywhere to be seen. It was terrifying.

To his surprise, though, Heero looked panicked himself after a minute's quick search. "Millie's gone, too."

Duo felt like an awful person, because right now he did not _care_ that the girl was missing. Leon was _gone._

Heero blew his whistle three times in short bursts, and two lifeguards rushed over to join them, though Heero was still keeping everyone a short distance away from Duo. He explained to them that two kids were missing, and the others heard, and soon everyone started shouting out their names uselessly.

Duo felt useless. Again, his son was in danger, and he couldn't do anything but stand there, helpless.

"Duo," Heero said, dragging his scattered attention back to the man in front of him. "Come with me. I might know where they've gone."

It was a lifeline, and finally Duo's feet were moving again. "Where?" he asked demandingly.

Heero was already moving, and Duo fell into step beside him. "The park across the street," he explained. "Millie has a puppy, and sometimes she slips her collar off because Millie never puts it on very tight. Millie plays with Mary in that park a lot, so if she got free she might head over there."

"And you think the kids went there looking for her," Duo finished. He started walking faster. Heero didn't say anything, just lengthened his strides until they were walking even again. He didn't even speak up when Duo walked through the traffic without pausing. Duo himself was trying not to think about Leon recklessly darting across the street. His hands were still shaking, but he couldn't afford to rest just now. He needed to find his son.

They got to the park, and Duo shouted for Leon as loudly as he was capable, which was actually quite a bit. Heero matched him shout for shout, Duo surprised that someone who always spoke so quietly could raise his voice that much.

In the end, it was the puppy that they heard first. Heero suddenly jogged off into the trees, and Duo followed even before he heard the high-pitched yips. They found the puppy, and then Millie, and Duo's legs almost went out from underneath him when he saw that Millie had one of Leon's hands held firmly in her own.

"Millie-" Heero started to say, trying to keep his voice down, although Duo could hear the anger and relief in his tone.

"Leonardo Schbeiker," Duo said, cutting off Heero. He managed to not shout, but only because his voice got lower when he was angry. Leon stopped dead in his tracks, and his face scrunched up like he was going to start crying any second. Duo just wanted to run over to him and hug him tightly, but his legs were frozen in place again. Wordlessly, he held out his arms.

Leon ran to him, and the tears finally burst free, and Duo fought the pinpricks in the corners of his own eyes. "I'm sorry," Leon sniffled.

"What happened?" Duo heard Heero ask Millie. "Why did you run off without telling me where you were going?"

They were keeping their voices down, but Duo could still hear them over Leon's quiet cries.

"I thought I'd be gone for five minutes, if that," Duo heard Millie say. "I saw that Mary was gone, and I figured I knew where she went, so I was going to bring her right back before you even noticed I'd left."

"I would have noticed no matter what," Heero insisted quietly. "I was very worried. Next time, please tell me where you're going first. You know it doesn't matter how long you plan on being gone, Millie."

Leon was calming down against Duo's shoulder now. Somehow, he had ended up in a crouch, holding Leon close against him. "You okay?" Duo asked, making sure.

"Uh huh," was Leon's response, his voice muffled. Duo was glad to hear it.

"If you didn't want to tell me where you were going, you should have at least told Leon's dad," Heero told Millie.

Yes, she should have. But one look at his son's guilty face had Duo sighing. "You followed her, didn't you?" he asked, although he already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry," Leon said again, looking miserable and red-eyed. "Millie was calling for Mary, and I remembered the road, and I didn't want her to get hit."

Whether he was talking about the girl or the puppy, Duo didn't know. He supposed it didn't matter. "The same rule applies to you," he said, voice as firm as he could make it. His arms were trembling just a little, still, but were getting steadier the longer he held Leon in his arms. "If you think someone's in trouble, you tell an adult. You tell _me,_ Leon. You know that."

Duo was going to have to ground Leon from coming to the pool next weekend. He didn't like the thought, could already imagine how exhausted he was going to feel while dealing with how upset Leon was going to be, but he had to punish his son for running off when he knew better. Duo assumed that Heero would do the same with Millie, or pass punishing her off to her parents, come to think of it. Telling Leon about next week could wait until later, though, when they were alone again.

He took one more deep breath, held it, and then slowly stood up straight again. The dizziness was gone, and the shaking almost, and his lungs were easily filling with air once again. Duo saw Heero watching him with concern out of the corner of his eye, but neither of them said anything. They started walking back, Millie carrying Mary, and this time they walked down the block until they reached the crosswalk.

"Did you walk down here when crossing the street earlier?" Heero asked Millie, and both she and Leon looked down at their feet.

Duo couldn't take the resulting mental images. "Did you know Leon was following you then?" he asked Millie. He didn't think she'd be that irresponsible, and he had been impressed with her holding onto Leon's hand when they found them in the park, but he wanted to be sure.

Duo also knew that, even though he couldn't remember ever specifically telling Leon to always use a crosswalk, his son knew better. They always used them when they were out walking together.

Millie shook her head, face solemn. Duo assumed that she knew how bad that would have been, and didn't want to get blamed for it. "I didn't know he was behind me until he joined me when I started yelling for Mary in the park."

"That's what I thought," Duo said, tired. He was always tired after a panic attack. "Thank you for holding onto him once you knew he was there," he added.

"Yes, that was very good of you," Heero added, his voice back to the quiet, calm tone that Duo was more familiar with. It helped settle the last of his nerves.

Their arrival back at the pool was met with cheering, as the people who'd been searching came over to express their relief. Both of the kids look a little mortified to be the center of attention, but Duo felt they deserved to know how worried everyone had been, not just Duo and Heero.

Duo eventually walked over to their towels, and Leon didn't argue about them leaving, even though he hadn't even been in the water yet. Duo was thankful his son didn't put up a fight, because he really needed to get home and maybe take a short nap in order to fully recover from this day.

Millie stood off to the side, petting Mary. Heero was right beside her, though he was talking to another lifeguard even as he kept one hand on Millie's shoulder. Obviously, he wasn't taking any chances either. Millie was biting her lip, and she was looking up at Duo anxiously. "I'm really sorry," she said to him specifically.

Duo gave her a tired smile. "I'm not angry at you," he reassured her. "I'm not angry at anyone," he added, catching the look on Leon's face. "I was just really worried that something bad might have happened to you."

Heero turned his attention back to their conversation, and nodded. "Me too," he said to Millie, and then looked back up at Duo. "You didn't drive here, did you?"

Duo shook his head. "We live only a few blocks away," he explained, though at the moment it still felt like too far of a distance. "We always walk here."

"Let me drive you two home," Heero said, and Duo was surprised but relieved. "I'm taking Millie home, and taking the rest of the day off myself."

"Thanks," Duo accepted.

Millie found Mary's leash and collar, and gathered up the rest of her stuff before they all trooped over to Heero's car, which turned out to be a black Range Rover. The kids were buckled into the middle seat, Heero even having a booster seat that Leon could use, much to Duo's relief.

They were home within minutes, and Duo got Leon out of the back. "Thanks again," he told Heero. Almost, he thought about asking if Heero and Millie wanted to come up and sit with them for a little while, but in the end Duo's exhaustion won out over his manners. He'd invite them over some other day, he decided.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Heero asked, studying his face intently. Duo didn't even want to know how wrung out he looked.

He shrugged. "I'm fine," he answered. Heero didn't exactly look like he believed Duo, which he couldn't really blame him for, but Heero didn't push it. He simply raised one hand in a wave goodbye, which Millie mirrored from behind him. Duo and Leon waved at them both until they turned a corner, then stood for a minute in silence.

"You're really not mad?" Leon finally asked him.

Duo laughed, short and sad. "No, I'm not mad," he replied, leading Leon into their home.

No, Duo was much too thankful that his son was all right to be properly mad at him anymore. He was also honestly very glad that Millie was okay too, and even the puppy. More than anything, though, he just never wanted to feel that sort of terror for his son's life ever again.

Twice was more than enough.


	3. Firsts

**Part III - Firsts**

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"She was very pretty," Heero commented, sitting on Duo's couch and holding one of many pictures he had around the house of Hilde.

Duo laughed. "That's the first thing everyone says. Not that she wasn't, but Hilde would have been pissed that everyone focused on her face first instead of making some comment about the funny shirt she was wearing, or-"

"Or when she was winning an ice cream eating contest between the two of you?" Heero finished, pointing at the moment in question.

"Yeah," Duo said, his voice soft.

Heero stared at the picture for a few moments longer, and then set it back down on the table. "You were close friends."

Smiling, Duo nodded, pleased that Heero had understood that. "That's all we ever were, actually," he divulged. "Not that I think our relationship wasn't special, just because we weren't in love or married."

"No," Heero agreed. "How long ago did she die?"

Duo was finding out that Heero could be very blunt, but he didn't mind. He was rather sick of people hedging around their questions and looking at him with pity in their eyes.

"Four months ago," he answered. Heero looked back at him, and his gaze held only support. Duo could just tell that Heero wouldn't pry any further, that he wasn't going to ask what had happened, was going to leave it to Duo to decide whether or not he would elaborate.

Perhaps that was why Duo found himself continuing. "It's been hell," he admitted. "Hilde was my best friend since we were younger than Leon is now."

His throat closed up against the memories, and he made himself take a deep breath. "We fooled around a lot as kids, but we never even considered dating. Somehow, we both knew that we weren't meant to fall in love with each other, though by the time we graduated high school everyone around us assumed that it was only a matter of time before we'd get married."

Heero smiled faintly, but otherwise sat quiet, patiently waiting for Duo to beat the tears back down. He leaned back on the couch and curled his legs up against his chest and held on to them, his chin resting on top of his knees.

"The married part never happened, but Hilde did end up pregnant during college. Even though we definitely didn't plan on it, I've never seen Hilde happier. She took summer courses when she had to take some time off, kept up with her classes, and between the two of us, we made it work. For five years, anyway."

Duo felt awful, and almost couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. He hadn't talked about Hilde in such detail since before she'd died. He found himself remembering so many moments with her: silly ones, happy ones, ones from after Leon was born…

He stood up suddenly. "I should check on Leon," he muttered, walking away. Duo felt kind of bad about leaving Heero alone in the living room like that, but he needed to reassure himself that his son was still safe. Duo peeked into Leon's room, saw him sound asleep, and smiled softly.

Walking back down the hallway, Duo was ready to apologize, only Heero wasn't in the living room. He followed some faint sounds towards the kitchen, and came into the room in time for Heero to hand him a glass of water.

He laughed softly. "Always the lifeguard," he said, taking the water and drinking it gratefully. "Thanks."

Heero nodded. "Millie almost drowned in the pool a couple of years ago," he said. Duo blinked, startled. "It's why I started volunteering to lifeguard. My sister and her husband refused to let Millie go near any pool for a year, but she was missing out on playing with her friends, especially during the summer, and she begged me to convince them to let her try again."

Heero looked down, suddenly sheepish. "She knows I'm a pushover when she begs," he admitted. Duo snorted, amused and understanding.

"So, the compromise was you being there to look out for her?" he guessed.

"Yes. I can't volunteer as much as I'd like to. Well, as much as Millie would like me to, but I do when I have the time."

"That's great," Duo admitted. "I don't know that many other uncles would be so accommodating." He was curious now. "What's your job, when you're not patrolling the public pool?"

"I'm a fireman," Heero said casually, as though it was no big deal at all.

Duo raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Shit, seriously?" That was impressive. In Duo's opinion, people who threw themselves into fires to try and rescue random strangers were genuine heroes. And also slightly insane, but still.

"That's the first thing everyone says," Heero returned, his tone dry. Duo laughed. He liked Heero's sense of humor.

"Aren't your hours kind of intense?" he asked.

Heero shrugging his shoulder silently was his only reply. It suddenly occurred to Duo that Heero looked tired. Not tired like Duo, who was constantly hanging onto his sanity by a thin thread these days, struggling to make it through one day after the next, hoping that it will get easier some day but not really expecting it to.

No, Heero looked tired like he hadn't been getting enough sleep consistently. Those amazing blue eyes had bruises underneath them. "Sometimes," Heero eventually admitted, his voice worn. "It's worth it, though. I don't think I've ever been as terrified as I was the day that Relena called me, sobbing so hard she could barely speak."

His sister, Duo assumed. "Hilde and Leon were out shopping," he said. "Someone in the next lane lost control of their vehicle and slammed into her door. The whole damn car flipped, apparently, but when the emergency crews got there, Leon was fine. Crying, scared out of his mind, but physically there was nothing wrong with him except for a few light scratches. Hilde was dead before they got there."

There was a hand under his elbow, guiding him back into the living room, and Duo realized that he was shaking uncontrollably. Heero sat him down on the couch again, and Duo tried to hold himself together against the memories of his own phone call, of rushing to the hospital to find Hilde dead and Leon inconsolable. He'd had to identify her body in the morgue.

"Breathe," Heero was saying to him now, and Duo tried to comply. "Take a slow breath, Duo. And another. Just focus on breathing."

They sat there silently, Duo on the couch and Heero crouched in front of him, his hands on Duo's knees. "Sorry," Duo said, after another minute or two.

The glance Heero sent him was sharp and piercing. "You have nothing to be sorry about," he insisted firmly. "You're still grieving, and you keep pushing it away because you have Leon to take care of."

Duo nodded, not bothering to deny Heero's claim when they both knew it was true. "This is the first time I've actually talked about everything," he admitted. "Thanks for listening."

Heero nodded, then stood up, moving over to sit beside Duo again. "I think you're doing great. With Leon, I mean," he said.

The 'not with himself' part was implied. Duo laughed shakily. "Yeah, I think so too."


	4. Playing Monopoly

**Part IV - Playing Monopoly**

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They were back in the park. This time, Duo was relaxing on a park bench, watching Millie and Leon chase Mary around. The two kids were laughing, and even Mary barely stopped to catch her breath before she was running off again, her gangly paws tearing up the grass underneath her. Duo was happy to see that, although Millie could easily outrun both the puppy and the boy, she was slowing down just enough so that they could both keep up with her.

Duo had received a text from him a little bit ago, so he wasn't surprised when Heero suddenly walked up the path. He smiled when he saw Duo, who tried very hard to stop his heart rate from increasing in response. It was no use by now, he knew. Duo had always found Heero attractive, but now that he'd gotten to know the other man better, Duo had come to realize that he might actually be falling in love with him. It was a new experience.

Heero sat down next to him with a little sigh. "Did they have fun last night?" he asked.

Duo snorted. "I thought I'd have to sedate them both to get them to fall asleep, but then suddenly they dropped unconscious like a light switch was flipped." He ran a hand through his bangs. "I probably shouldn't have let them start a game of Monopoly so late, but I figure it's a great way to start Leon on addition and subtraction."

Heero quirked an eyebrow at him, then smirked. "Millie won though, didn't she?" It wasn't actually a question.

Duo mock-glared at him. "Oh, so you were the one to teach her how to be such a ruthless money shark?"

Heero shook his head, still looking amused. "Her mom did, actually. No one ever believes that, though. Relena's had her whole life to practice the wide-eyed and innocent act."

"I've always wondered what having a sibling would be like," Duo said musingly.

Heero snorted. "Annoying," he answered, but then he shook his head. "No, it's actually great most of the time."

"I would hope so," Duo said, laughing. "Good to know."

"She wants to meet you, actually," Heero suddenly said.

Duo wasn't at all surprised. "I imagine she probably thinks it's a little weird that I babysat her daughter last night when we've never even met."

"No," Heero refuted, rolling his eyes. "She's just nosy. She says that she just has to meet the only person besides Millie who can actually manage to grab my attention away from work." He wasn't looking Duo in the eyes, but instead focusing on Millie and Leon chasing Mary and each other around. "She has a point," he admitted, voice hesitant. "I can be somewhat…"

"Focused?" Duo suggested, knowing exactly what Heero meant.

"Relena says that I have 'advanced tunnel vision,' and can even ignore food sitting in front of my face if I'm focused on something else."

Duo coughed to hide his laugh, but Heero shrugged. "I'm not used to interacting with many people outside of work and my family."

Or any people, Duo would wager. Though, since Hilde had died, Duo had pushed everyone but Leon away, so he couldn't talk much. That was something he was slowly working to fix, though, and had even had a couple of close friends over last week. Slowly, he was picking up the pieces of his life. Part of the reason why was Heero's silent support, and Duo couldn't even begin to explain how grateful he was to him.

Heero struck him as a loner, though. Someone who was perfectly content not to socially engage with others unless necessary.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with that, if it's what you want," Duo said, "but I can understand your sister being curious. She didn't come with you, to pick up Millie?"

"No," Heero answered. "She wanted to. She almost called off a conference, but she's very busy for the next couple of months, and can't really change her schedule much without throwing everything off." He shook his head, looking rueful. "That's what my brother-in-law says. I try to stay out of politics as much as possible."

"Politics?" Duo asked. "Your sister's into politics?"

Heero smiled that small grin of his. "You've never heard of Relena Peacecraft-Winner?"

Duo goggled at him, truly speechless for one of the very few times in his life. "You've got to be kidding me," he exclaimed after a minute, knowing that Heero wasn't. Heero wasn't the kind of person who would joke about something like that, not unless it was true.

Heero continued to look like it was no big deal that his sister was currently in the running for president of the whole country. Duo whistled under his breath as he digested that. "Suddenly, the lack of free time makes a lot more sense," he conceded.

Just then, something else occurred to Duo, and he bolted upright in alarm. "Wait a minute, your brother-in-law is Quatre Winner."

Heero blinked, looking askance at Duo. "Ah, yes?"

Holy crap. Duo laughed. "Small world," he explained. "Quatre is my boss. Well, not directly. I work in IT Security for Winner Enterprises, and my boss is pretty high up in the company. He reports directly to Quatre, so I've met him a couple of times."

Heero was now the one looking pole-axed. Then he scowled, which to be honest mostly just looked cute. Duo was doomed. "Quatre didn't say anything," Heero said. Was he actually pouting? "I've been talking about you for months, and Quatre didn't say one word except to say that you sounded 'nice.'"

Duo smiled. "You've been talking about me for months?" he asked, trying to sound casual but most-likely failing.

Heero looked slightly embarrassed, but then suddenly leaned over toward Duo and took his hand, lacing their fingers together. "Since before I knew your name," he admitted.

Duo's hand was tingling from the contact. He hadn't known that was possible outside of fiction. Heero's fingers were callused, his palm rough. Duo had never gotten so much pleasure out of simply holding hands with someone else before.

He grinned. "Good, because sometimes I really want to kiss you."

Duo surprised Heero into a laugh. "Only sometimes?" he asked, his tone trying for serious, though he couldn't seem to stop smiling.

"Well, sometimes I want to do a little bit more than that," Duo couldn't resist adding.

Heero's hand squeezed his lightly. "Glad to know it's not just me," he said softly, and Duo knew he wasn't really talking about the innuendo.

"I'd like to meet your sister," Duo said in reply. There was a sudden shout from the kids, and they both turned to see them running across the grass, Millie in front. She must have finally caught sight of Heero.

"Uncle Heero!" she cried out happily. Heero stood up so that Millie could hug him when she got close enough. Mary and Leon came up behind her, both breathless but obviously happy.

"Mr. Heero, hi!" Leon called out, once he'd gotten his breath back.

Heero smiled at them both. "Did you two have fun last night?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.

Leon nodded. "We played Monopoly," he announced.

Duo sat there, letting their happy chatter wash over him, and marveled at how content he felt. Nothing could have prepared him for Hilde's death, but nothing could have prepared Duo for meeting Heero, either.

Gradually, Duo's life was finally moving forward again.


	5. What's Relative

**Part V - What's Relative**

########

While Duo did want to meet Heero's sister, he really hadn't expected it to be at 5:30 in the morning. Leon was still asleep, and Duo would have been too, having gotten into the habit years ago of rising and sleeping when Leon did, but someone was knocking lightly on his front door.

When he opened it a crack, Duo saw a very pretty blonde-haired woman with blue eyes standing there looking uncomfortable. She was dressed in a light pink pantsuit that brought out the natural color in her cheeks and lips, and was shifting nervously in the hallway.

She also happened to be a face that Duo had gotten increasingly used to seeing frequently on the news, and especially online. Duo blinked, but no matter how tired he was, there was definitely a presidential candidate standing in front of his apartment door this early in the morning. "Hello?" he ventured after a moment, unhooking the deadbolt and opening his front door in a silent gesture for her to come inside.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, talking so fast that her words were almost running together. "I'm very sorry to disturb you so early in the morning like this. Did I wake your son up? I tried knocking as quietly as possible, in case he was still asleep. I feel horrible for this, but could I possibly ask you for a favor?"

Relena Peacecraft-Winner was looking at him with a desperate expression in her wide blue eyes, her hands clasped demurely together in front of her.

"What do you need?" Duo asked, trying to force himself more awake by sheer force of will. He wasn't a natural morning person, especially before caffeine hit his system.

She smiled at him, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I have a scheduled speech in an hour," she explained hurriedly. "I should already be on my way, actually. Quatre was supposed to come home last night, but his flight was delayed three times before they cancelled it altogether, and the next one won't land until this afternoon. Our regular babysitter is on vacation, and Heero is at work. He offered to come back home, but he got called out before he was done talking with me. He can't just up and leave when he's supposed to be out on a truck with people depending on him."

"You want me to babysit Millie," Duo realized.

"Please?" she asked. "I know this is horrible of me. We've never even met properly before, but there's literally no one else who I trust with her that's available on such short notice. I can't let just anyone take care of Millie, even for a few hours. I'd bring her with me, but I wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her there either, and I'd just be worrying the whole time."

"I can understand that," Duo admitted. It was occurring to him for the first time that, with his sister being a big-time politician, and his brother-in-law owning a rather large and wealthy company, Heero could be something of a political target, as wild as the idea sounded.

Millie was likely an even bigger one.

"She can stay here as long as you need," Duo said, his mind made up. Not that he would have refused her, no matter what. He liked Millie, and honestly didn't mind watching her for a bit.

Mrs. Peacecraft-Winner slumped with relief. "Thank you," she said, with what even Duo could tell was genuine gratitude. "I'm just going to go get her. She's probably fallen back asleep."

"Probably," Duo said, to thin air. She was already gone. He was surprised at how fast she could move in those heels when she had to. Duo looked around his living room blearily while she was gone, trying to focus his mind. If Millie was going to be here, it wasn't like Duo could fall back asleep.

Mournfully, he quickly walked back into his bedroom, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, and came back out. After a quick stop in the bathroom to splash water on his face, he moved into the kitchen to start the coffeemaker.

She came back in quickly, Millie beside her yawning and looking pale. "Hi, Mr. Duo," she greeted quietly.

Duo smiled at her. Her hair was still tousled and her eyes were mostly closed. She looked adorable, and Duo could see a lot of her mother in her face. "Hi, Millie."

"Thank you again," Mrs. Peacecraft-Winner said. She really looked very sorry to disturb Duo like this, which he appreciated.

"I understand," he said, since he couldn't honestly say that it wasn't an imposition. She was likely perfectly aware that she was imposing, and Duo didn't see the point of lying just to be polite. "I'm glad you asked me, instead of taking her along or something," he added, because that at least was true.

She smiled, looking ten years younger suddenly. Duo had been thinking before that she was Heero's older sister, but now he wasn't sure. "I'm glad we met, though," she admitted, "even like this." She held out her hand. "So nice to finally meet you, Mr. Maxwell."

Duo took her hand, amused. "Call me Duo," he insisted.

"Call me Relena," she returned. Relena turned and walked over to Millie, who was sitting on the couch, half-curled up and drifting off again already. "I have to go, sweetie," she said softly, brushing back some of Millie's hair from her forehead. "Be nice for Duo, okay?"

Millie nodded, just a little. "Bye, Mom," she mumbled.

Relena straightened up and gave one last smile to Duo. "If anything happens, call Heero." Then she shook her head and walked back towards him. "No, call me. If something happened, I'd want to know, even if I was in the middle of my speech." She took out her phone, and Duo found his so that they could exchange numbers quickly before she left.

When Relena was gone, Duo looked at the little girl curled up on his couch, and then at the coffee almost done brewing, and shook his head. He locked his front door, carefully rearranged Millie so that she was lying down more and wouldn't get a crick in her neck, and then he got a huge mug full of coffee and curled up in his armchair, turning the TV on very low. He knew he'd probably doze off some, despite the drink, but he was a light sleeper, and would wake up at the first sound from Millie or Leon. Until then, they'd all rest for just a little bit longer.


	6. Grill at the Barbeque

**Part VI - Grill at the Barbeque**

########

"You have no idea how long it took me to realize that I'd answered the door that morning wearing only my underwear," Duo admitted, laughing at himself.

Relena giggled. "I'd wondered," she admitted. "You just didn't look awake at all! Still, I didn't think mentioning that you were mostly-naked would help matters any."

"Probably not."

It was the next weekend before Relena was free, but she was determined to have Duo and Leon over for dinner to make up for barging into his apartment and asking him to babysit out of the blue like that. Duo honestly didn't hold it against her, but she had been adamant.

"I wanted to have you two over soon anyway," Relena had explained over the phone in that earnest tone of hers. It was no wonder she was such a popular politician, when it was so easy to tell that she was a genuinely nice person, and honestly believed in what she was campaigning.

"I'd known that she was eager to meet you," Quatre, as he insisted on being called, now said. "I just didn't think she was _that_ eager," he added, teasing her.

Relena's cheeks were suddenly pinker. "Well, after hearing Heero boast about him for so long, I finally couldn't resist the temptation," she shot back. Quatre laughed at Heero's long-suffering expression.

Duo mock-sighed. "It's difficult being so popular," he said, commiserating. Heero bumped Duo's shoulder lightly with his own, and smiled.

They were having a barbeque, although Quatre and Relena actually had a cook who was grilling the food for them. Duo's mind boggled. Heero quietly admitted that it used to be unnerving to him also, but after fifteen years, he was somewhat acclimated to it now. Duo didn't know if such obvious shows of wealth would take him a lot shorter time to get used to, or a lot longer.

"I'm really not a morning person," Duo admitted, though that was probably fairly obvious by now.

Quatre smiled at him sympathetically. "I'm not, either," he admitted. "I don't function before noon without caffeine, although I can fake it very well."

"He can," Relena concurred. "It's amusing to watch him field a board meeting, or someone's call, when he's trying to drink his tea as fast as possible without choking on it."

Duo surmised that Relena and Heero were both morning people. They both looked far too amused. While mildly embarrassed when he recalled standing around almost-naked in front of Heero's sister, Duo shrugged it off. He could hardly be blamed for not being totally coherent that early, especially without warning.

The rest of the evening went really well. Duo was both thrilled and relieved at how easily he got along with Relena. He already knew Quatre, somewhat, but aside from one blearily-remembered meeting, Duo didn't know Relena at all.

She was similar to Heero in a lot of ways, actually. Both seemed blunt and charismatic, and forceful when they needed to be, the kind of person that Duo respected because they didn't bother coming up with lies when the truth was there to say instead.

It was as Duo was coming back from the bathroom that Quatre cornered him. Duo couldn't say he was surprised, and was even a little curious about what kind of protective family spiel he'd have to hear.

Quatre, as though anticipating this, started with, "I'm really happy that Heero's found someone."

"But?" Duo asked, knowing from meetings that Quatre appreciated people getting to the point.

Quatre looked… uncomfortable. Which wasn't a feeling he was used to, Duo assumed. "No, I mean it," Quatre insisted. "Heero's been a lot happier these past few months, and I know it's because of you. While we weren't close friends or anything before all of this, I don't have any reason not to like you."

Duo kept quiet. Despite Quatre's protests, he could still hear a 'but' in there.

When Duo didn't say anything, Quatre sighed. He still looked like he'd rather not be having this conversation, which made two of them.

"I don't know how to ask this without sounding incredibly insensitive and rude," Quatre finally said.

Duo blinked, and then shrugged, not offended. "So, ask anyway."

That got him a smile before Quatre shrugged himself. "Okay, then." He actually took a noticeable breath before continuing. "Are you sure Heero's not just a rebound?"

Duo really hadn't expected a question like that at all. "A rebound?" He hadn't dated anyone in years, and never seriously, with the intent of pursuing a committed relationship.

Quatre shifted in place, like a school boy getting scolded. "You're my employee. I know that your partner died less than a year ago."

The unexpected reminder of Hilde was still enough to hurt. Duo closed his eyes for a moment against the pain, then opened them to see Quatre looking very concerned. Duo couldn't blame him for making the mistake of thinking that he and Hilde had been in love, not when everyone else did too, including Heero at first.

To his own surprise, and Quatre's, Duo suddenly found himself smiling, just a little. "We weren't together like that," he said simply.

Quatre blinked once, and then again, and if Duo had thought he looked sorry before, it was nothing compared to now. He bit his lip. "I'm really sorry about bringing this all up," he said quietly. "I just- I know you have a son, and I knew about the accident, and I just assumed-"

"I know," Duo cut in, because he did. "Hilde was my best friend, and she _was_ my partner, just not in that way." He didn't know what else to say. He'd never been able to describe their relationship in a way that didn't have people asking him, 'Why don't you two get married?', or after, 'Why didn't you two ever get married?' It was impossible to explain.

"I see," Quatre said, and he really did seem to understand somewhat. He smiled ruefully. "Well, I guess we can join Relena and Heero then, and they can both give me dirty looks for trying to scare you off."

Duo chuckled, which turned into a full-blown laugh that he tried to stifle when they walked back into the room and Quatre did actually get evil looks from both siblings. "Everything's fine," he assured them, still snickering.

Quatre sat down sheepishly. "I was being an ass, but Duo was nice enough to indulge me."

Relena huffed, but then sat back and relaxed. Heero's hand found Duo's again, and squeezed his fingers gently. Duo grinned. He'd have listened to a thirty minute lecture on why he wasn't good enough for Heero and still told Quatre Winner to mind his own business, even though he was technically Duo's boss, but Duo was very glad that he hadn't needed to.

When Relena suggested that they get together again soon, Duo was all too happy to accept.


	7. Close Calls

**Part VII - Close Calls**

########

If Duo's heartbeat picked up every time the phone rang, he could hardly be blamed for that. Maybe the ringing of a phone would always signal a spike of anxiety in him from now on. Especially his work phone. The one that rang now, and made him jerk so hard in his chair that he accidentally spilled coffee on his hand.

Hissing at the pain, Duo used his left hand to pick up the phone and hold it to his ear. "Hello-"

That was as far as he got into his usual office spiel before he heard Relena's frantic voice over the line. "Duo? Duo, listen to me. I'm at Mercy Hospital. I need you to come over here and ask for Heero's room."

Duo's vision blurred, and the coffee cup still clutched in his right hand fell from his suddenly numb fingers. He didn't even hear it hit the floor. All of his attention was on the phone, and he clutched it tightly enough in his fingers that something in the casing cracked.

"What happened?" he managed to force out. Room. She'd said his room. Heero couldn't be hurt too badly if he was still in a room. Not Heero. Not him too, not-

"Part of the building he was in collapsed on top of him," Relena said, her voice scratchy. Duo could tell without even seeing her face that she was fighting back tears. "He's going to be okay, really, but he has some burns, and his leg's broken. And he inhaled too much smoke, which means they've got him on oxygen."

"Holy shit," Duo said, exhaling heavily. He looked around his office blankly, but there was no one in the room to tell him what to do next, who to talk to about leaving, what he should do…

"I'll be there as soon as I can, Relena," he told her. "Just hang in there."

He hung up, grabbed his keys and wallet, and left. The hell with anything else. He'd apologize to people later, explain what happened, but right now he couldn't even remember the name of the woman he'd just passed, let alone his superior's. Heero…

How Duo got to the hospital without injuring himself or anyone else, he didn't know. He was just thankful for that much. He babbled something at the poor front desk nurse, who luckily seemed skilled in translating what panicking visitors were saying into comprehensible English. Securing a room number only after giving his name and being checked against a list, along with his ID scrutinized, Duo practically ran over to the elevator, smashed the button, and just stood there staring blankly ahead until the doors opened.

He saw Relena first. She was dressed in a suit, and Duo knew that meant she had also been at work when she got the news, but she looked to be in no hurry to move from Heero's bedside. Now that Duo could see her face, he saw the tear marks and red eyes he'd known he would find there.

She stood up when he barged into the room and hugged him, burying her face in his neck. Duo held her back just as tightly, if not more so. There were less machines hooked up to Heero than he'd thought there would be, but just the few that were there, beeping in the background, were enough to punch a hole straight through Duo's heart. He felt himself start to shake in Relena's arms, as though seeing Heero lying there made the situation more real somehow.

"He's asleep?" Duo asked, despite seeing for himself that Heero was unconscious. He made himself let go of Relena, and walked around to the chair on the other side of the bed that he was pretty sure Relena had specifically requested be brought inside the room. There was an IV in Heero's other hand, but the one beside Duo was bare, and he grabbed hold of those fingers gratefully.

Relena nodded, answering his question anyway, and sat back down, sniffling quietly. She got out some tissues from her purse and handed one to Duo, who wiped at the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. "I don't know the details of what happened," she said. "All I know is what the doctor told me about his injuries." She sounded lost. He wasn't feeling any better.

Duo said nothing to that. They both knew what had happened. Heero's job could be very dangerous. "Has he been injured on the job before?"

She shook her head slowly. "A sprained wrist, once, years ago. But no, nothing like this."

Duo took the time to look Heero over carefully. Now that he was paying closer attention, Duo could see a burn that started on Heero's neck and traveled further down, under the hospital gown. Duo swallowed against the sudden lump in his throat.

"Why isn't he awake?" he asked after a few minutes. Logically, Duo understood that Heero was recovering from trauma, and needed sleep, but emotionally, Duo needed Heero to be awake, to look at him with those clear blue eyes and talk to him in that firm, calm voice.

Relena sighed. "His leg. They had to set and cast it. And his lungs," she added. "Dr. Po said that he inhaled too much smoke. He was coughing so much that he was damaging his throat, and in order to let the oxygen clear his lungs out, she decided that it was best to give him a sedative. It should wear off in another hour or two."

Panic seized Duo at the thought of Heero not being able to breathe. He carefully watched the cannula under Heero's nose as it filtered oxygen into his lungs. "The smoke didn't permanently damage his lungs though, right?" he asked. He didn't know why he was putting Relena on the spot like this, and felt terrible about it, but he wanted answers and she was here.

She didn't seem to mind him asking. "Dr. Po said they'll need to listen to his lungs after he wakes up, maybe do an x-ray, but she thinks they started him on oxygen before any permanent damage could be done. The EMTs who brought him in had already started treatment while he was being transported, since because of the fire they were there before he was hurt."

Duo nodded, much relieved. No, Heero wasn't completely out of the woods yet, but the more Duo listened to Relena talk, and the more he took in the quiet of the room, the more he relaxed. It was okay. Everything was okay. If Heero wasn't okay now, he'd have people swarming all over him. There was no way Relena would be sitting here quietly if something was seriously wrong with her brother.

"What about his leg?" he asked, gesturing to the slightly-elevated leg in the cast. It was only the lower leg that was encased, not the whole thing, which Duo knew meant that Heero should at least be able to use crutches for mobility while it healed.

Except that Relena looked very upset when Duo mentioned it, and he felt his hear skip a beat in fear. "That's what Dr. Po is mainly concerned about," she confessed quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "A piece of the ceiling broke off and landed on his leg. That's where he got burned the worst, but the weight also cracked his tibia in two places. Dr. Po says they were able to set his leg very well, and the breaks should heal cleanly, but they're worried about how the scar tissue is going to tighten while under the cast in the meantime. He'll have to go through a lot of physical therapy once it's off, in order to regain mobility in his leg, and possibly have some other surgeries for the scar tissue too."

They were silent for a while after that. Duo couldn't think of anything else to ask. All he could do was stare at Heero's face. This whole situation still felt surreal. Once again, there was a phone call in the middle of the day. Again, someone he loved was hurt.

This time was different though, Duo reassured himself. This time, he was sitting in a room, not standing in a morgue and staring numbly at a sheet-covered body, and praying to no one that he would wake up from his nightmare already.

Heero was okay. Duo just had to keep telling himself that. This time, Heero would be fine.

It was the thought of the next time that stole Duo's breath and made him cling even tighter to Heero's hand, warm in his own.


	8. Decisions

**Part VIII - Decisions**

########

There was a knock, and Duo raced Leon to the front door, letting him pull ahead at the last second. Duo put his hand around Leon's on the doorknob, and they both pulled it open to see Heero standing there, looking a little tired but happy to see them, leaning on his crutches.

"Hi, Mr. Heero!" Leon called out happily.

He looked as though he wanted to leap forward and tackle Heero to the floor, but Duo grabbed his shoulder gently and eased him back instead. "We should let Heero come inside so he can sit down," Duo explained gently.

Leon nodded enthusiastically, and watched anxiously as Heero carried himself over the threshold. Duo would be amused if he wasn't so worried himself. Heero must have caught both of their concern, because he looked back and forth between them for a moment before he smiled. "I'm okay," he assured them both.

Duo and Leon made sure that Heero was comfortable on the couch, pulled the coffee table over so Heero could rest his leg up on it, cushioned the cast with a pillow, and then settled down themselves. They were probably fussing over him more than he was used to, judging by the mildly amused expression on his face as Leon solemnly handed Heero the remote while Duo himself ran into the kitchen to fetch him a glass of water.

He didn't say anything though, besides thanking them both. "So, what movie were we going to watch?" he asked. Duo was pretty sure it was an attempt to change the subject and focus their attention on something else.

"Star Wars!" Leon cried out.

"Jurassic Park!" Duo voted, just as enthusiastically.

They both turned as one to look at Heero pleadingly, waiting for him to cast the deciding vote. His eyebrows were raised, and he sat there for a minute before shifting a little. "I've never seen either," he admitted.

Duo's jaw dropped, and he was peripherally aware that Leon was also agog at this information. "Why?" Leon demanded, as though personally offended.

"How?" Duo asked next. Heero shrugged, but Duo knew him well enough to see that, for the first time since he'd walked into the apartment, he was starting to look uncomfortable.

Duo sighed theatrically. "Well, that decides it, then. Despite how awesome Jurassic Park is, you can't go another minute longer without seeing Star Wars." It was the better choice anyways. Leon probably shouldn't watch Jurassic Park right before bed.

Heero sent him a thankful look for taking the decision out of his hands, and Duo winked, going to put in the movie. Leon raced to his room to put on his pajamas, and Duo brought out the popcorn, and the three of them settled down.

Duo wasn't sure how much of it Heero had been able to follow over Leon's exclamations, or whether he'd even liked it or not, but he definitely didn't complain about Duo's head resting on his shoulder when the popcorn ran out.

When the credits started rolling down the screen, Duo put Leon to bed. He'd managed to stay awake through all of it, which was impressive, but he literally fell into bed and was asleep before Duo got him covered with a blanket. When Duo returned to the living room, he saw that Heero also looked tired, his hair and clothes rumpled and his eyes drowsy. Duo smiled at the sight.

Heero smiled back, then held out an arm. Duo took the offer, snuggling in against his side. Both of them sat there quietly for a bit, just enjoying being with each other. After a while, Heero turned his head and lightly kissed the top of Duo's. "Are you all right?"

Duo snorted. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" he countered.

Heero pulled back just enough to be able to look Duo in the eyes. "I'm fine," he said. "The cast is set to come off next week." And then he'd begin a ton of not-fun physical therapy, Duo knew, but Heero was right. He was healing amazingly well.

Duo nodded. He knew what Heero really meant. Ever since Heero had ended up in the hospital, Duo had been thinking about a lot of stuff. Like whether or not he could handle it if Heero got hurt again, or what he would do if Heero was killed, and whether or not Duo could handle being in a relationship with someone whose job was so risky.

He didn't think he could cope if Heero died on him. In fact, Duo was positive that he'd suffer some sort of psychotic break if that happened. And he couldn't afford that. Duo had Leon to look out for. No matter what, he had to be there for his son.

Looking into Heero's eyes now, Duo saw that he understood everything that was running through Duo's head, and was waiting patiently for him to come to a decision. Obviously, Heero wanted them to stay together. Duo was pretty sure Heero wanted to marry him eventually. He also knew that Heero wasn't going to quit his job just because he'd gotten hurt. Duo didn't even want him to. Part of what Duo loved so much about Heero was his unwavering determination to persevere, his enduring strength. Duo often wondered what Heero loved about him, but had never had the courage to ask.

He'd been going around in mental circles thinking about the two of them, about their relationship, because he didn't want to go through all of this again every time something bad happened to either of them. Whatever Duo decided now, he was determined to stick to his decision. Anything else was just cruel to both of them.

He thought about them breaking up tonight, and Duo came to the realization that just maybe he was strong enough now to heal from that hurt and move on. He then thought about being together with Heero for the rest of their lives, however long that might be. Thought about this amazing person who fully trusted Duo to make the right choice for both of them, no matter what that decision ended up being.

Those beautiful blue eyes were waiting, Heero's gaze calm and steady.

Duo took a deep breath, and he decided to let go.


End file.
